[NCL_Update] URGENT: Fax Letters to Your Two Senators and One Congressperson re: Appropriations

[Jon Randall]

National Coalition for Literacy Update: ACTION ALERT
Advocate Against Across-the-Board Cuts
November 10, 2003

Action Requested ... Please contact your Senators and Representatives
immediately to oppose across-the-board cuts in the Omnibus funding bill and
to urge the Congress to make additional funds available to education.

Background ... Late last week, Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist and
Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert decided that all appropriations bills
not completed by November 18 will be put in an omnibus bill.  They are
trying to adjourn for the year by November 21st. The House and Senate are
now considering across-the-board cuts in all programs not yet funded for FY
2004 to help pay for Veteran's health care, Global AIDS, election reform and
special education.  

Preliminary allocations are already $3 billion above the agreed-upon
spending cap of $786 billion. This means that all education programs would
be cut, but at this time we don't know by how much. Earlier conversations
with appropriations staff had indicated funding for NCL priority programs
was going well, but the across-the-board cuts could eliminate any gains we
had made and even reduce funding below the FY 2003 levels.
 
The House-Senate conference on Labor, HHS and Education appropriations is
still stalled.  The major players have differing opinions on funding--
Stevens and Specter in the Senate are asking for an additional $600 million
for education; Rep. Obey wants all special projects in the House to go
instead to increased education funding, which would mean an additional $1
billion.

Your letter should be no more than a single page. It should urge your
Senators and Congressperson to oppose across-the-board cuts in the Omnibus
funding bill and to urge the Congress to make additional funds available to
education. It should mention why such funding is important to your community
and give one brief example of an adult learner success story.

Find the fax numbers for your two Senators and your Congressperson at
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Thanks to Moira Bohannon of McA Enterprises, Inc here in Washington, DC for
preparing this alert.

Jon Randall
Public Policy Committee Chair
National Coalition for Literacy
www.natcoalitionliteracy.org

FedStrategics, LLC
8413 Park Crest Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: (301) 588-5304   Fax: (301) 588-5353
jrandall at fedstrategics.com


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